Electrochemical oxidation/reduction of water, or “water splitting”—conversion of H2O to H2 and O2 by application of electrical potential across electrodes of a cell—can in theory be a useful approach to produce hydrogen and oxygen fuels. As a practical matter, such an approach is severely limited by the fact that energy input generally exceeds the energy obtainable from the produced fuels. Electrode materials which increase the quantity of product at a given voltage can potentially overcome this challenge.
Iridium metal and/or oxide have been used as an electrode active material for the electrolytic production of oxygen gas from water. The efficiency of such an electrode can be improved through the use of nanoparticulate iridium. Nanoparticulate iridium of high quality is difficult and expensive to obtain in production scale quantity.